This application claims the priority of German Application No. 101 20 445.0, filed Apr. 26, 2001, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
An electronic clutch system (EKS) is known from the journal mot-Technik (November 1991, Page 136 to 138). This electronic clutch system acquires the operational data sensed by sensors, such as the rotational engine speed, the transmission input rotational speed, the vehicle velocity, the current gear, the accelerator pedal movement and the gear shift lever movement and analyzes these operational data as to whether the current operation indicates a possible shifting operation. If a possible shifting operation is indicated, the engine is uncoupled and the muscle effort normally applied by the driver is taken over by the electronic system in the control unit and the actuators arranged on the output side.
The method according to the invention has the advantage that, in motor vehicles with an automated manual or automatic transmission, the gear shifting can be implemented much more rapidly, whereby the driving comfort is significantly increased. The providing of a precontact switch in the operating device for the shifting device, which already initiates a declutching operation while the driver grips the operating device and therefore carries out the shifting operation earlier, leads to a faster shifting operation.
It is a particularly advantage that the precontact switch is a type of proximity switch which operates on the basis of infrared radiation, ultrasound, induction, light waves and/or electromagnetic waves. It is another advantage, the present system has a self-learning design, so that it learns on the basis of operating conditions, such as the rotational speed and the load, when a shifting operation will soon be initiated.
Another advantage is the fact that the precontact switch is switched active only when the operating conditions of the motor vehicle are in a range which points to an imminent shifting operation.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.